


Don't Quote Me On This

by DramaticGarbage



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Creativitwins, Food/eating, Lamp - Freeform, M/M, Multi, Platonic Moceit - Freeform, Platonic creativitwins - Freeform, Soulmate AU, demus - Freeform, soulquotes au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2020-09-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:06:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26370892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DramaticGarbage/pseuds/DramaticGarbage
Summary: In a world where a quote on your arm will help you find your soulmate(s), there can be a surprising amount of confusing messages.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil/Creativity | Roman/Logic | Logan/Morality | Patton, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders/Deceit | Janus Sanders, Deceit | Janus Sanders & Morality | Patton Sanders
Comments: 16
Kudos: 269





	Don't Quote Me On This

Logan slid his key in the lock of the front door, glad to be letting himself inside after a full day of work. It wasn’t that he disliked his job, but there was just something about being home. Or maybe it wasn’t really as much about being home as much as it was about..

“Welcome home, Lo! Did you have a good day at work?” Came the cheery voice of his roommate. 

He made his way inside, heading to the doorway of the kitchen to see Patton standing there in his comedy apron. “Hello, Patton. Yes, nothing out of the ordinary. ..How was your day?” He responded, either ignoring or not noticing the fondness that built within him as he laid eyes on Patton.

“Good! I got off work a bit early and thought I’d make something special for dinner tonight!” He explained, turning back to the food on the stove.

“That was quite thoughtful of you, thank you. I am looking forward to it.” Logan gave him a soft smile, nodding.

Patton let out one of his adorable little giggles, glancing back to his roommate. “Of course! It shouldn’t be much longer, why don’t you go get changed out of your work clothes and then we can eat?” 

“Good idea. I’ll return shortly.” Logan responded, turning to head to his room and loosening his tie as he did so. 

He greatly appreciated his roommate, they’d been close since their earliest days of university, having ended up in the same dorm and deciding to remain roommates even after their dorm days were up. They’d lived together ever since, even now that they’d graduated and moved a bit away from their alma mater. 

It wasn’t that uncommon an arrangement, many people found a roommate or two - or didn’t bother moving out of their parents’ homes, until they found their soulmate. Some people had multiple soulmates, some had both romantic and platonic soulmates... It was all whatever the mysterious driving force behind fate had apparently decided. It was easy to tell what it was you were looking for, however, as all one had to do was look at the words written on their inner forearm. Everyone had a piece of a larger quote, that your soulmate or soulmates would have the rest of. The quote was written in the handwriting of someone in the pair or set of soulmates, and it was generally hypothesized to belong to whoever had the best handwriting available amongst the relationship. 

Logan looked down at his own soulquote fragment as he changed from his work shirt to a more comfortable casual shirt, skimming over the three simple words written there in very fancy cursive. They were on his right arm, as well as being an incomplete sentence, signaling that this was a connection to a romantic soulmate. “ _Always trust before_ ” was all it said. He often wondered what the completed sentence would read, but he could only wait and see. 

Once he was in more comfortable clothes, he made his way back to the kitchen to join his roommate. Patton was just plating up the meals, so Logan went to retrieve glasses and pour them both their preferred beverages. 

Patton smiled at Logan once the plates were ready, picking one up and turning to look at him. “I’ll be right back, I’m gonna take this next door.” 

His roommate nodded, glancing down at the plate and then back up. “I’ll get the table ready.” 

“Thanks, Lo!” He responded cheerily, heading to the door so he could make his way over to the neighboring apartment. 

Logan had taken a moment before he left to look over Patton’s arms, his words visible because of how he’d been holding the plate. Logan had words indicative of a romantic soulmate. But not everyone did. Some only had romantic - like himself, but others only had platonic soulmates. A fairly rare few even had both. Platonic soulmates were a fascinating thing to Logan, perhaps especially because he didn’t have one. Romantic soulmates always seemed to follow an unknown set of rules. Sexualities and romantic preferences, approximate ages and general locations... Things like that. Platonic soulmates did not. They could be across great distances and first meet online, or be of any age group, some were even family. 

Patton was one of the lucky ones to have both. While his right arm bore a few words, clearly just a fragment, his left arm had a full sentence. It made sense on its own, but it made more sense along side his soulmate’s. 

His platonic soulmate, who lived next door.

Patton knocked on the door, it swinging open fairly quickly to reveal the man who lived beside them. He smiled as he saw him, holding out the plate proudly. “Jan! I made dinner!”

Janus fondly feigned a look of surprise. “Oh _really_? I _never_ would have guessed, Pat.” His lips curled up at the edge, reaching out to take the plate and looking down at it before looking back up to Patton. “Both of our windows are open, I’ve been smelling this for what feels like hours.”

“Well, you don’t have to wait anymore! It’s right here!” Patton responded, very cheerily.

Janus tilted his head to the side slightly, raising an eyebrow. “...You good, Patton?” 

Patton was smiling wide, a bit too wide. Fake wide. Something only very few people were able to recognize, and his best friend was one of them. After a moment he exhaled, giving his platonic soulmate a much more real, and much more tired smile. “...Yeah, I’m alright. Just one of those days. Especially just.. Spending time with Logan. It’s so.. Nice. So.. Domestic and sweet, y’know? It just... Feels right.” 

Janus nodded, setting down the plate to give him a pat on the shoulder. He knew Patton was a romantic, he’d wanted to find his other soulmate since they were young. Falling for his college roommate hadn’t been something that helped in the slightest. And in a world where no one really dated outside of soulmates? Things could be really rough for someone like Patton. “Yeah, I know. Part of the reason why I don’t have a roommate. But you’ll be alright. I know you’ve got this. You’ll find your person sooner rather than later, I’m sure.” 

Patton gave him a small smile, reaching to hold out his left arm softly and tentatively, almost like he was very vulnerably requesting a hug. Janus held up his own left arm, lining it up with Patton’s so the two sentences in Patton’s loopy handwriting could be read in order.

They read them aloud together, Janus’s first, and then Patton’s. 

_“Share our similarities.”_

_“Celebrate our differences.”_

The words on their skin glowed softly once they’d been spoken, reminding them both that they had one another.

It was at that point that Patton couldn’t help but actually hug him, smiling and giving him a squeeze in thanks. Janus hugged him back, albeit a little less enthusiastically. It was just their dynamic, one that they’d had since they’d been young. It had worked out quite well that they were platonic soulmates, seeing as they had bonded quickly about their romantic soulquotes being... Less than what they may have hoped for. 

The words on Janus’s right arm were interesting to say the least, and it wasn’t the most surprising to find out that not a lot of other kids thought they were a good sign of what was to come. It read: 

“ _There must be  
Action  
Chaos and  
Death” _

The only one who didn’t seem to mind them, probably because he was hopeful beyond all hope that negative sounding soulquotes were just some kind of out of context misunderstanding, was Patton. Patton, who’s own simply read, “ _love is nothing_ ” which wasn’t all that much better. So over the years, they’d become extremely close and always had each other to lean on. Nothing brought people together like a very specific shared experience, afterall. 

The hug was slightly prolonged, but once it did finally end, Patton said his goodbye and made his way back to his own apartment, finding that Logan had finished getting their meal set up and was seated, waiting for him to join him before eating any of the meal before him.

He joined him in his seat, picking up his fork with a smile as he began to dig in. “Thanks for getting everything ready, Logan!”

“It was no trouble at all, Patton. You put in all of the real effort. This is quite delicious, by the way. Thank you.” 

Patton beamed, his face lighting up. “No problem! You know I love to cook.” 

The more serious young man let out a soft breath of laughter, one that Patton knew better than most, and one that he appreciated for its rarity. “That is true, you always have.” 

The two of them resumed eating, a comfortable silence falling over them. Patton didn’t know when things got this bad - how long it had been since he’d fallen for the intense intellectual that he now was sharing a meal, a table, and a home with. He hoped it was just how much time they spent together that had led him to feeling this way... Once they’d both found their soulmates this would probably stop, right? 

His eyes trailed down to Logan’s arm, subtly tracing the words written there as he ate. His own were written in fanciful cursive as well, and as much as he was sure - was he actually sure, or did he just really hope? - that the handwriting matched up, the words didn’t. So they couldn’t be soulmates. Right? 

“...Patton?” 

His head snapped up, finding Logan looking at him with one eyebrow softly raised. 

“Oh, uh, yeah?” He responded, his cheeks darkening.

“...I just wanted to let you know, my weekly poetry club has been moved to today for this week, so I’ll be heading out fairly shortly.” Logan explained, looking back at his roommate. 

“Oh! Alright, I hope you have fun!” He responded, smiling. 

“I’m sure it will be quite fun, I generally enjoy myself.” He answered, a slight smile tugging at his lips. ...God, how Patton loved that little smile. 

They stayed there a bit longer, them having enough time to finish their meal and for Logan to help get the dishes cleaned up before he had to leave for his club meeting. With a wave he slipped out the front door and walked down the street, he didn’t need to take his car, thankfully the location was only a couple blocks from their apartment. 

When he said ‘location’ he actually meant the local hipster coffee shop, and ‘poetry club’ could have been more accurately called a ‘poetry slam,’ but these details were insignificant. He made his way into the coffee shop, taking a seat so he could watch as the participants made their way to the microphone to perform their poems. There were always a few newcomers as well as the usual regulars, Logan happy to sit back and wait for a few to go on before his name was called and he stood to take the mic. There were a few murmurs as he made his way up, he’d been coming for a long time now to these weekly gatherings, and it was more than fair to say he’d won more times than he’d lost. 

A hush fell over the crowd as he stood behind the mic, him only needing to clear his throat once before he began his quick, intelligent, thought-provoking piece. His words flowed smoothly and deliberately, each one clearly chosen very specifically in order to curate a particular mood and feeling in those who heard them. He concluded abruptly, in such a way that left the audience both craving more, while also forcing them to contemplate the overall message of what it was he’d said. By the time the minds in the room had caught up to what it was he’d done, he’d already exited the stage and was nearly back in his seat, claps and snaps only beginning once he’d found himself reseated.

It was almost needless to say that this was yet another week where the victory had gone to Logan, him reveling in the satisfaction he received from the accomplishment. Most weeks, he’d generally escape along with the small crowd, disappearing into the night and feeling satisfied. But he decided to let it clear out a bit and then treat himself, and Patton, to a nice beverage from the shop.

He’d managed to order himself and Patton their drinks and was waiting off to the side when someone was suddenly at his side. Logan turned to justify the sudden presence, seeing that the man now beside him was another regular of these events, one he’d definitely seen many times before, though they hadn’t spoken. 

“Logan. You’ve gotta help me.” He said, looking at him seriously.

“...With what exactly, Roman?” He raised an eyebrow. 

The newcomer reached into his back pocket and pulled out a notepad and small pen. “You’re too good at this! I need pointers! How do you just..” Roman gestured vaguely back to the now-empty stage space. “...do all that?”

It took Logan a moment before he let out a breath of a laugh, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked back to Roman. “...You want me to give you tips on how to compose poetry? From what I can recall, as well as what I saw tonight, you are rather skilled yourself.” 

He huffed, dramatically letting out a sharp breath upward and moving a wayward piece of his hair. “Well yes, but you have such a way with it! I need to know what it is you draw from!” 

He couldn’t help but give him an amused head shake, but he did have to wait for the coffees - decaf for Patton, before he headed back.. So why not? “Well, I suppose I could at least give you names of a few of my favorite poets..” 

Roman’s eyes lit up, hurriedly writing out the names Logan provided, as well as a few book recommendations. At one point, Logan glanced down at the notepad, stopping in his tracks as his eyes traced what was written there.

“...Lo? You okay?” The other poetry enthusiast asked, looking a bit concerned. 

The calculating eyes behind those serious frames flicked up to Roman’s. “...Write.. Write something else. More slowly.” 

Roman raised an eyebrow, glancing down and writing out, “Why? What do you want to know?” In much nicer cursive than the hurried notes had been in.. But still undeniably the same. 

“...Oh my.” Was all Logan managed. 

“What is it? What aren’t you saying?” He asked, getting slightly impatient. 

All Logan did was hold up his right arm where Roman could get a better look, the thespian’s eyes widened, immediately recognizing his own handwriting. He hurriedly pushed up a sleeve, holding his arm up to Logan’s. Written there on Roman’s arm was “ _you love, because_ **”** in the same fancy cursive. 

They whispered the words together. _“Always trust before you love, because_..” they glowed dully, clearly they weren’t complete.. But they had definitely had found one another. 

“Oh my god! Logan! We’re soulmates! We must have at least one more, oh my god this is amazing! I always knew I had to have two since mine is clearly the middle of a sentence. What do you think the rest says? And oh my god this is so amazing! We need to exchange numbers and.. Are you busy right now? Maybe we could talk some more and..” 

Logan was very interested in Roman, he was his soulmate afterall, but around there he got a bit distracted from his excited rambling by something he’d said. ‘What do you think the rest says?’ Always trust before you love, because... Because.. 

The taller young man suddenly reached out and took Roman’s hand, effectively stopping his ramble. “...I need you to come with me.” Was all he said before he turned for the door, barely remembering to snag the carrier with his two drinks as they went past. He was power walking down the street, up the block, toward his apartment. Roman was doing his best to keep up, luckily he was more than fit, but damn did Logan move quickly.

It was minutes before they arrived to the apartment, Logan letting go so he could unlock the front door and quickly walk inside. 

And there was Patton. He’d been cleaning in the living room, turning with slight surprise as his roommate bursted in with someone at his heels. He was wearing some his cute pajamas, an adorable look of confusion on his face... Before Logan’s brain could catch up, the sheer adrenaline in his body had placed the carrier down and walked purposefully up to his roommate, immediately pulling him in to his chest in a tight hug. One hand held him around the back, the other tenderly threading into the hair on the back of his head, his head ducking down to tuck against the other man’s. 

The smaller roommate was clearly surprised, but he couldn’t help but lift his arms, hugging Logan back with all the strength of how much he’d wished for this over the years. He buried himself in Logan’s chest, a voice in the back of his mind desperately trying to convince him he was awake. He was confused, but the last thing he was ever gonna do was question this. 

Roman was still standing in the foyer, clearly something was going on here. But these two were quite obviously having a moment, so he just moved to close the front door as quietly as possible, and then moved to lean against the wall. 

It was actually multiple minutes before the two in glasses pulled apart to look at each other, their expressions soft, fond, loving.. Everything they’d ever wanted to see from the other. 

Patton broke their enamored silence. “...Logan?” He asked fondly, looking up at him. 

“Patton..” Logan breathed his name so softly, it almost didn’t exist. He gave the man in his arms a loving smile before he turned to look at Roman. “...Roman, come over here, if you would?” 

Roman pushed off the wall and made his way over, both him and Patton looking a bit confused. But all Logan did was let go of Patton and move to hold up his right forearm, giving them both an expectant look. The two of them blinked, but Roman was first to line his up with Logan’s, and Patton slowly added his at the end. 

“ _Always trust before you love, because love is nothing_ ” they said aloud, watching as the words glowed, more brightly than they had at the coffee shop. Roman, standing in the middle of them quickly moved his arms to wrap one around each of their waists, pulling them into a hug with more strength than they’d been expecting. It was only a moment before they’d wound up tucked all together, all smiling sincerely at their own varying levels of intensity. 

They stood together for a bit before eventually separating, finding themselves settling in the living room to sit and talk a bit. 

Over the course of the conversation, both Roman and Logan noticed Patton slowly wilting in his seat. Logan’s face was showing concern, but it was Roman who reached over to take one of Patton’s hands in his own and softly run his thumb over the back of it. “...Patton? What’s wrong?” 

“I just.. My piece it’s.. Our quote is so..” He mumbled, flipping over his arm to show them those words once again. 

It was abundantly clear that Roman wanted to console him, but it wasn’t at all hidden that he was also a bit disheartened by what their quote said as well. Generally a soulquote said something about the relationship. Something that held a meaning to them, or a piece of advice or... Something. But their’s was a bit..

“That is not how our quote ends. We must have another soulmate.” Logan spoke up, bringing two sets of eyes immediately to him. 

“You think so?” Patton asked softly, voice full of hope. 

“How can you be so optimistic, Logan?” Roman asked, also much softer than he usually was.

The more stoic one’s expression was impossible to read. He was steely serious, looking over the two of them in turn until his eyes settled on Roman. 

“Your piece has a comma, Roman.” He said simply.

“...Yeah?” He replied, both of Logan’s soulmates looking confused.

“I refuse to believe that we would have a comma in our sentence and no period. It is a grammatical faux pas that I will not stand for.” Logan said, completely serious and adamant.

It took the two others a moment to truly and completely let those words sink in, but once they had the tension completely dissipated. Of course Logan was only worried about the punctuation, of all things. Their nerd was something else, that was for sure.. But he certainly did know how to lighten a mood. Intentionally or not. 

They got their minds off of their quote for the remainder of the evening at least, able to just talk and get to know each other better. Clearly Logan and Patton were already quite close, but they had much to learn about and share with Roman. It had taken longer than Logan would have assumed for Roman to notice that Patton had another soulquote, but once he had, the newest member of their little group was immediately trying to read what it said. 

“...Oh! Patton, you have a platonic soulmate?” Roman asked, leaning in. 

Patton smiled, holding up his arm so his soulmate could read what was written there. “Yep! He actually lives next door, his name is Janus. You’ll have to meet him soon! I can’t wait to tell him about you, oh and about Logan! He already knows Logan of course, but not as my soulmate.” He rambled a bit, ending by looking at his bespectacled soulmate, clearly enamored all over again.

He couldn’t help but smile at how fond Patton was, giving him a moment before replying. “Oh, so you’ve already found him? That’s really cool. I don’t know many other people who have both romantic and platonic.” Roman said, still reading over the words, Patton’s loopy handwriting making him smile.

Both of the glasses wearers looked a bit surprised. “You have one as well?” Logan asked, interested.

“Yep! Uh..” Roman looked down, pushing up his left sleeve to show them what was written there. It was also written in his handwriting, the beautiful cursive unmistakable. “ _If you want to go fast, go alone._ ” 

“That’s amazing! Have you found your’s?” Patton asked, smiling as he looked up from the words. 

“Yeah, I have. I’ve known him for... I mean, forever actually.” Roman said, a bit strangely. Logan noticed it, but it seemed to go over Patton’s head. 

“Oh that’s great! I met Janus when we were still in Elementary school, I’m so glad I’ve always had him.. He’s my best friend, like.. Family, but more... I don’t know. It’s hard to explain. ...But I don’t have to! You get it, you know what it’s like.” Patton said, rambling a little and laughing in spite of himself.

Roman was looking back at him fondly, giving him a nod. “I do, don’t worry. He’s definitely... Unique. I.. Well, as far as the family thing goes... He is family. We’re.. He’s literally my brother.” He said, almost wincing a little, waiting for their response. 

Logan nodded, seeing what the hesitation had been. Some people lacked any kind of nuanced understanding when it came to platonic soulmates, seemingly having no clue what ‘platonic’ meant. And clearly Roman had interacted with some of these people. So, Logan simply nodded, responding casually. “That is rather convenient, you surely didn’t have to work very hard to find him in that case. And it certainly brings more context to what you meant by having ‘known him forever.’” 

Roman seemed relieved honestly, which Logan didn’t exactly like the implication of, but that was for another time. Patton had gone back to looking at the words on Roman’s arm. “...What does his say?” He asked, curiously. 

He traced the words on his own arm before he responded, reciting the other half from memory. “ _If you want to go far, go together._ ” 

Patton immediately clasped his hands in front of himself. “Aw! I love that, that’s so sweet!” 

Roman finally relaxed, nodding a bit as he pulled his sleeve back down and they returned to conversing casually.

They fell into a very comfortable rhythm, the relationship between the three of them growing into something that they all absolutely loved. Logan was still resolute in the fact that they simply must have at least one more soulmate - so much so that Roman held a bit of fear about it coming to pass that he was wrong and that he’d end up taking Patton to get a period tattooed at the end of his piece of their sentence, so the three of them still kept as much of an eye out as they would have done before. 

They didn’t let it interfere or slow down any other part of their relationship, them starting to go on regular dates and Roman also ‘casually’ looking into places they could eventually move to so they could be all together. Their dates were nice and sweet, them each taking turns to plan different ones so they could all enjoy interesting sorts of outings. 

Somewhat unfortunately, one of Logan’s dates - stargazing on a blanket in the park one night, had led to Patton misplacing his phone in the field. It was quite late and rather dark, so they weren’t able to find it before they turned in for the night. They were going to come back and look again the next morning, but for now it would have to wait. 

-

Early the next morning, Virgil took his usual walk to work. He loved this time of day, just before sunrise when everything was still cool and just barely beginning to light up. His scenic route led him through the park, him enjoying the peaceful quiet that came from being alone. When he’d made it just about halfway through, something caught his eye. He paused, having to look beneath a bench to find the source of the glint that had caught his eye. It was a cellphone, face down on a thick patch of grass. Glancing around and verifying that he was completely alone, he bent to pick it up. Hopefully it wouldn’t be locked and he’d be able to contact someone to help the owner find it. 

It was in an adorable sky blue case, covered in tumbling cartoon kittens. He flipped it to face up and then tapped the screen, watching as it illuminated and showed the lock screen photo. He blinked, staring at it for a long moment before slipping the phone into his pocket and continuing off to work. 

When he stepped through the door of the coffee shop, still just on time to help with the opening shift, he called out to his coworker, already there behind the counter. 

“Hey, Remus! Do you clean up really well, or is that brother you always talk about just like.. You but showered?” He said, pulling out the phone with a smirk as he made his way to stand beside him. 

“No idea on the first one, never tried.” The mustached man shrugged, turning to look at what Virgil was holding out to him. “Oh, yeah! That’s Roman.” He nodded, looking at the picture of the three men on the lockscreen, huddled together so the tallest one of the groups could take a selfie. “Those must be his soulmates, he told me he found two of them, but I haven’t gotten a chance to meet them yet.” 

“Oh cool, so this must be his. Or one of their’s. Can you contact one of them?” Virgil asked. 

“Yeah, yeah. That’s not Roman’s phone. That drama queen’s case is like bright ass red with a bunch of gold all over it.” Remus waved vaguely, pulling out his own phone which was in a bright ass _green_ case with a bunch of _silver_ all over it.

Virgil blinked, but just waited for Remus to do whatever it was he was going to do. After having been friends and coworkers with him for a good while now, it was clear that this was just how things had to go sometimes. 

Remus tapped out a message, sending it off to his twin. “Hey, did one of your boytoys lose a phone?” 

“They are not my boytoys. ...And maybe, why do you ask?” 

“My coworker found one with your face on the screen. Blue case, bunch of cats on it?” 

“Yeah, that’s Patton’s. Can you bring it by after work? I’ll send you the address.” 

“Sure, but you owe me.” 

“Why am I not surprised?” 

Remus slipped his phone back into his pocket and turned to Virgil again. “Yep, that’s one of his boyfriends’ phones. Give it here, I’ll get it to him after work.” 

Virgil was halfway to holding out the phone for him to take when he saw that mischievous glint in his eye and pulled his hand right back. “...You know what, I know what happened last time you had the opportunity to mess with your brother.. I think I’ll hang onto it and deliver it myself.”

"Aww.. If I didn’t know any better I'd think you don't trust me," he whined. "Which, y'know... Fair. But still." He looked like he wanted to say more, but they really did have to get to work, so he settled for giving Virgil his best pout. Over the course of the rest of their shift he attempted to bargain, plead, and outright fish the phone out of Virgil's possession - the emo had certainly not been expecting the improvised fishing pole, but at this point not much about Remus could surprise him anymore. Virgil never gave in, simply too used to Remus and his shenanigans, and once their shift was over they found themselves heading off together to meet up at Roman's drop off point.

Remus knocked on the door to the apartment when they arrived, a rapid and erratic series of raps on the door that was unmistakably an announcement of his arrival in particular. It was no time at all before the door swung open, his twin on the other side of the threshold. 

“Roman!” Remus lit up, smiling at his brother. 

“Hey Ree, glad you found the place alright.” Roman gave him a small warm smile before it melted into fond exasperation and a very expectant expression, one hand landing on his hip which had immediately and dramatically popped to the side, while the other was held toward him. “Alright, cough up the phone, trash panda. Just tell me what you did with it. Dunk it in the toilet? Long distance calls? Let the squirrels run off with it?” 

Virgil butted in. “No, don’t worry. I didn’t let him touch it.” He explained, pulling it out of his pocket and handing it over to him.

Roman seemed surprised, looking over the emo before him. “Thank you. ..My, what a dark and stormy knight you are, so valiantly keeping this treasure from a such a villain.” He said, a smirk growing across his face. 

That certainly hadn’t been the response he was expecting, but Remus had moved and fallen dramatically toward his brother before Virgil could answer, and Roman had to scramble to catch him in a quick dip so he didn’t hit the floor. 

“You slay me, Romano. How could you say such a thing?” He said, equally as dramatic and playful. 

“...Wow. You two really are just alike, aren’t you?” Virgil mumbled, watching the twins. 

Two sets of green eyes were immediately on him, their voices piping up in unison. “No we’re not.” 

“...Right.” 

“Oh hi! You’re the one who found my phone?” Came a voice from behind Roman, Virgil peeking around the drama twins to see another man their age coming up to join them. 

“Oh, yeah. It was under a bench, face down in the grass.” Virgil explained, watching him come closer. 

“That would certainly explain why calling it didn’t help in the slightest.” Yet another voice sounded from off from deeper in the apartment, Virgil looking to see another man leaning against the wall and watching their interaction.

“Well, thank you so much! I’m so glad it was found. And hey! We were about to have lunch and watch some movies, why don’t you two join us? Oh! And I’m Patton by the way! What’s your name?” He offered excitedly.

Virgil blinked, not having expected that one either. Today was full of surprises, it seemed. “Uh, Virgil. And, uh.. I mean, you don’t have to do that. I didn’t really do much, I just didn’t want Remus trying to feed your phone to the ducks.. And I don’t want to intrude or anything.” 

Patton giggled, adorably - a thought Virgil didn’t want to admit he’d had, seeing as Patton was already with both of his soulmates. “You won’t be! I insist, at least as a thank you for finding and bringing my phone!” Patton smiled, waving away his argument with a hand gesture. 

Virgil looked to Remus for his input, but he and his twin were completely distracted by whatever conversation they’d fallen into. So this was just on him. He thought for a moment, he really didn’t have anything else going on... Oh hell, why not? “...Ok, if you’re sure. Thank you, Patton.” 

Patton full on squealed, reaching forward to grab Virgil by the hand and tug him deeper into the house. Yet another surprise for the emo, but no one else even reacted to Patton’s antics. The excitable young man led him to the couch and told him to make himself comfortable, he was just going to go get lunch started. The man who’d been leaning against the wall joined him, sitting in the armchair to the side of the couch. 

“Hello, I’m Logan, by the way.” He introduced himself, nodding in greeting. 

“...Hey. Is it always this active around here?” Virgil asked, a slight joke in his voice.

Logan responded, his tone amusingly deadpan. “You don’t know the half of it.” 

That got a soft snort out of Virgil, him noting the subtle hint of a smile that formed on the serious man’s lips when he did. The two of them ended up sitting quietly on their phones, the twins eventually coming to join them and plopping down on the couch beside Virgil. They were obviously much less able to handle quiet, and managed to pull the calmer two into a conversation, the four of them casually conversing until Patton came into the room with their lunch. He’d made a heaping platter of wings for them to share, bringing along paper plates as well as a few different dips all in little cups so they could eat family style.

“Ok, so here’s all this.. I also have some fresh lemonade, I just need to grab the pitcher and the glasses!” He said happily, turning and disappearing back into the kitchen and returning momentarily with a stack of glasses and a pitcher. He began to unstack the cups, Logan reaching over to begin filling them for everyone. Once he’d filled the sixth cup, Patton had moved a good serving of the wings onto a plate as well as taking one of each sauce cup and putting them on a second plate. From that point, he stared down the three things in front of him, seeming contemplative. 

“...Is everything alright, Patton?” Logan asked, looking to him and trying to understand his confusion. 

“Huh? Oh, yeah yeah. I just was gonna take some over to Janus.. But it’s three things and I only have two hands. I guess I can just make a second trip..” He said, mumbling a bit. 

“Oh oh! I’ll help! Pick me!” Remus said, bouncing in his seat and raising a hand. 

It had most of the room raising a slightly confused eyebrow, but Patton just smiled thankfully. “Aw, thank you, Remus! And you can meet Janus! It’ll be great, come on!” 

Remus popped up and took the plate of wings, while Patton handled the drink and the dipping sauces. Patton led him out the front door, the remaining three trading shrugs and confused glances while they sat back in their seats to wait for their return before they dug in. 

Remus knocked on the door since Patton’s hands were full, standing beside his twin’s soulmate as they waited for the door to open. It didn’t take long, the door opening to reveal the man who lived next door.

He seemed surprised that Patton wasn’t alone, especially beside someone he’d never seen before, but his platonic soulmate beat him to the punch. 

“Hey Jan! This is Remus, he’s Roman’s brother! ...Oh! And they’re platonic soulmates too, isn’t that neat! Just like us!” 

Remus waved excitedly, showing off a huge toothy smile. 

Janus’s usual sassy expression settled over his features as he looked Remus up and down. “Oh I _never_ would have guessed. You two look _nothing_ alike, afterall.”

The occupant of the apartment didn’t exactly know what he expected Remus’s response to be to that, but it certainly wasn’t those big eyes and the goofy grin. “ _Ooo_.. I like him, Pat. He’s got spirit in him.” 

Janus actually blushed, unsure what that meant but.. God when was the last time he’d actually blushed? Patton was also giggling, which was not helping. “...Anywaaaay,” Patton began, nodding to what they were holding. “I brought you some lunch, Jan! Remus helped me carry it over.” 

“...Ah, I see. Thank you. Here.” He reached out and took what Patton held, moving to place the two plates down on the nearest surface before turning to Remus and taking that plate as well. Remus seemed to be watching him as he moved, Janus unsure why his gaze felt so.. Warm. 

As he turned back to face them, Remus suddenly gasped, stepping forward into his personal space and taking each of his wrists into his hands. “ _You!_ You’re mine!” 

Janus’s cheeks were entirely pink, looking back at Remus and searching his gaze as though the answer was somewhere in those shiny green eyes. “Wha.. What?” 

Remus’s smile was stretched from ear, pulling Janus’s right arm up higher. “You have a weird soulquote! Just like me!” The other two blinked, Remus moving to push up his sleeve and show Patton and Janus what he meant. There on his arm, in the same sort’ve messy scrawled handwriting, was his chunk of a soulquote, the only one the other two had seen in the same unique format as Janus’s.

_“balance.  
and reaction.  
order.   
and life.”_

Janus stared, slowly lifting his arm to line them up, the two of them reading it together.

“ _There must be balance._  
Action and reaction.  
Chaos and order.  
Death and life.”

Patton was the first to squeal at the bright glow that the words had after they’d spoken them together, Remus immediately wrapping Janus up in a huge hug and squeezing him close. Janus was still somewhat in shock, his cheeks dark red, but he brought up his arms to hug Remus in return, ducking to hide his embarrassed expression in his newly found soulmate’s shoulder. Patton stood there for a moment, but seeing that this seemed to be a pretty prolonged hug.. He quietly snuck out the door and went back to his own apartment.

He made his way back inside, closing the door behind him and moving to join the other three. 

Roman was the first to ask, “Hey Pat.. Where’s Remus?”

“Oh, uh.. He decided to stay over at Janus’s for bit.” Patton said, shrugging as he took a seat on the other side of Roman. 

The other three definitely felt like there was more to that story.. But it could wait. They’d been smelling those wings this whole time and they were ready to dig in. It was comfortably silent between the four of them as they ate, turning their attention to the movie they’d had playing in the background.

Once lunch was done, Patton popped up to begin cleaning up, but Logan didn’t let him do it all on his own. He stood and helped gather up the plates, the two bespectacled soulmates heading to the kitchen to get to cleaning.

It took maybe ten minutes for the two of them to have the kitchen cleaner than it was before Patton had started cooking, but that was apparently more than enough time for the two they’d left in the living room to get into a friendly argument. A comment about the disney film currently playing on the television had led to discussion that very quickly revealed that both parties had rather differing opinions. 

Patton and Logan entered the living room, watching the two of them go back and forth. Patton was listening, seeing if he could find a way to help them find some sort of a compromise, but the same could not be said for Logan. 

He was staring at something, and one point his voice cut through the argument, drawing all the attention in the room to himself. “...Oh my.. Virgil has a point.” 

Roman mock-gasped, making a rather regal sounding noise to indicate that he was offended by Logan not taking his side. He drew a breath to remind Logan who in this conversation he was actually _dating_ , but the more serious man simply raised a hand to pause his comment. “No, Roman. I haven’t been listening in the slightest to your conversation. I’m saying Virgil has a point. A period. Look.” He gestured to Virgil’s now bare arms, as the emo had shed his jacket while they’d been eating.

Roman’s gaze snapped to Virgil’s right forearm, seeing that Logan was correct. “... _oh my god he has a point._ ” He agreed, his voice a hushed whisper. 

Virgil raised an eyebrow, lifting his arm so they could all see it a bit better, all three of them quickly recognizing Roman’s undeniably immaculate handwriting. Logan stepped forward and held out his arm first, Roman quickly standing to join him, with Patton coming up third. Virgil blinked, standing and holding his out to line up with their’s.

They all brought in a breath, reading the full sentence aloud, now that they had Virgil’s ending to finally bring them the closure they’d all been wanting. 

“ _Always trust before you love, because love is nothing without trust._ ”

All of their words were glowing brightly, shining in perfect gold to let them know they’d done it. They’d really found each other. Just like before, Roman was first to pull his arm away so he could pull them all into a hug, smiling as Patton did the same so Virgil could be pulled in as well. It was a bit of an awkward tangling of bodies and limbs as they tried to figure out how to have a four person hug.. But it didn’t take too long for them to figure it out. And once they had.. It was perfect. 

**Author's Note:**

> Here's a visual I made of the soulmarks incase i didn't explain it well! 
> 
> https://not-so-innocent-bi-sander.tumblr.com/post/628793518404648960/dqmot-visuals


End file.
